§ 33-21-120 — Definitions

(a) As used in this act:
(i) "Advanced practice registered nurse (APRN)" means
a nurse who:
(A) May prescribe, administer, dispense or
provide nonprescriptive and prescriptive medications including
prepackaged medications, except schedule I drugs as defined in
W.S. 35-7-1013 and 35-7-1014;
(B) Has responsibility for the direct care and
management of patients and clients in relation to their human
needs, disease states and therapeutic and technological
interventions;
(C) Has a doctorate or master's degree in
nursing, or an advanced practice registered nurse specialty or
has completed an accredited advanced practice registered nurse
educational program prior to January 1, 1999; and
(D) Has completed an advanced program of study
in a specialty area in an accredited nursing program, has taken
and passed a national certification examination in the same area
and has been granted licensure by the board to practice as an
APRN.
(ii) "Alford plea" means a plea agreement where the
defendant has pled guilty yet not admitted to all the facts that
comprise the crime;
(iii) "Approval" is the process by which the board
provides for evaluation and grants official recognition to
nursing educational programs which meet established uniform and
reasonable standards;
(iv) "Board" means the Wyoming state board of
nursing;
(v) "Certificate" means a document issued by the
board permitting the performance by a nursing assistant/nurse
aide of basic related nursing tasks and skills delegated by a
licensed nurse and as allowed by statute and board rule;
(vi) "Competence" means the application of knowledge
and the interpersonal, critical thinking, decision-making and
psychomotor skills expected for the practice role within the
context of public health, safety and welfare;
(vii) "Impaired" means the inability to practice
nursing with reasonable skill and safety to patients by reason
of one (1) or more of the following:
(A) Lack of nursing competence;
(B) Mental illness;
(C) Physical illness including, but not limited
to, deterioration through the aging process or loss of motor
skill; or
(D) Chemical or alcohol impairment.
(viii) "License" means a current document permitting
the practice of nursing as an advanced practice registered
nurse, registered nurse or licensed practical nurse;
(ix) "Nursing process" means the investigative
approach to nursing practice utilizing a method of problem
identification by means of:
(A) Assessment: A systematic and continuous
collection of objective and subjective data about the health
status of individuals and groups derived from observations,
health assessment including physical assessment, interviews,
written records and reports;
(B) Nursing Diagnosis: The identification of
actual or potential responses to health needs or problems based
on collecting, analyzing and comparing data with appropriate
nursing standards to serve as the basis for providing nursing
care or for which referral to appropriate medical or community
resources is required;
(C) Planning: Development of a plan of care
which includes measurable goals derived from the nursing
diagnosis and identified priorities to maintain comfort, support
of human functions and responses, and an environment conducive
to wellness;
(D) Intervention: Actions in nursing practice
which implement the plan of care to maximize health capabilities
of individuals and groups;
(E) Evaluation: The continuous appraisal of the
effectiveness of goal attainment in the plan of care by means of
reassessing health status, and if necessary, modifying nursing
diagnosis, plan of care and interventions.
(x) "Practice of practical nursing" means the
performance of technical services and nursing procedures which
require basic knowledge of the biological, physical, behavioral,
psychological and sociological sciences. These skills and
services are performed under the direction of a licensed
physician or dentist, advanced practice registered nurse or
registered professional nurse. Standardized procedures that lead
to predictable outcomes are utilized in the observation and care
of the ill, injured and infirm, in provision of care for the
maintenance of health, in action directed toward safeguarding
life and health, in administration of medications and treatments
prescribed by any person authorized by state law to prescribe
and in delegation to appropriate assistive personnel as provided
by state law and board rules and regulations;
(xi) "Practice of professional nursing" means the
performance of professional services requiring substantial
knowledge of the biological, physical, behavioral, psychological
and sociological sciences, and of nursing theory as the basis
for applying the nursing process which consists of assessment,
diagnosis, planning, intervention and evaluation. The nursing
process is utilized in the promotion and maintenance of health,
case finding and management of illness, injury or infirmity,
restoration of optimum function and achievement of a dignified
death. Nursing practice includes but is not limited to
administration, teaching, counseling, supervision, delegation,
evaluation of nursing practice and execution of the medical
regimen. The therapeutic plan includes the administration of
medications and treatments prescribed by any person authorized
by state law to prescribe. Each registered professional nurse is
accountable and responsible for the quality of nursing care
rendered;
(xii) "Practice of a certified nursing
assistant/nurse aide" means, regardless of title or care
setting, the performance of nursing related tasks and services
delegated by a licensed nurse. The nursing assistant/nurse aide
shall complete a specified course of study approved by the
board, meet minimum competency requirements and be certified by
the board;
(xiii) "This act" means W.S. 33-21-119 through